It was a night to remember in Kelowna Friday (Jan. 17) after a blowout win on the road.
The UNBC Timberwolves took on the UBC-Okanagan Heat, where the ladies were still looking for its first win of the 2020 portion of this year's campaign.
UNBC would get that first win by a 50-point margin, 104-54, while also seeing one of its most talented players hit the record books.
The Heat were the team that came out firing to start the game, jumping out to a 10-3 lead within the opening five minutes, forcing UNBC Head Coach Sergey Shchepotkin to put his women into a zone defence which ended up paying off as the Heat would commit numerous turnovers where Maria Mongomo would make them pay, hitting a pair of three-pointers while freshman Rebecca Landry made back-to-back layups which would give UNBC a 19-18 lead after one.
The second quarter was where history would be made.
After the Heat earned second-chance points from Jordan Korol and Jaeli Ibbetson, Emma vanBruinessen answered for the Timberwolves and then it was Mongomo's time to shine.
She would nail a three to score the 1,499th point of her career, in which she passed former UNBC great Vasiliki Louka, who held the previous record for most points in UNBC history with 1,498.
HISTORY! Check out the record-breaking points by Maria Mongomo, as @UNBCWomensBBall has a big 2nd quarter, and leads @UBCOHeat 46-28 at the half! pic.twitter.com/8wpoRHmUTV
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) January 18, 2020
Her current career total at 1,525 after dropping 35 last night.
She's now one of only 15 players to ever reach 1,500 Canada West career points and is the current active leader among all players.
UNBC would stretch their lead, taking over the second quarter and scoring 27 points to give them a 46-28 lead at the half.
Mongomo continued to shine in the third, where she helped the Timberwolves start to run away with the contest, where they ended up taking a 79-42 lead heading into the last 10 minutes.
In the end, UNBC was just too much for the Heat, coming away with a 104-54 victory.
Mongomo was the leading scorer appropriately for the Timberwolves with her 35 points, seven rebounds and five steals.
“Maria really stepped up for us this game and was focused on the team effort and win. When we told her she broke the record she didn’t know and cared more about our team win and effort everyone put forward,” said UNBC teammate Emily Holmes, of her longtime running mate.
“I’ve been her teammate for five years and she is a talented basketball player. I’m proud and thankful I’ve been a part of her career and see her achieve such milestones.”
With the win, UNBC moves to 4-9 on the year. The two teams will meet again tonight in Kelowna with a tipoff time of 4 p.m.
